End of the Line - But Not for Long

One of my early childhood memories is riding the miniature train at Houston's Hermann Park. My mom & dad would take me and my sisters there to go to the park, the zoo, and to go on picnics. One of the highlights was the train ride through the park

When my own boys were small we did the same thing, only now the park has the Houston Natural History Museum as well, where my kids loved the T-Rex skeleton. Of course, the train was also a big part of the park then.

So it was with some sadness that I noticed the story in the Houston Chronicle that said the train made its last run on New Year's Day after a fifty-year run. Surely, they weren't going to do away with this Houston institution and important part of my childhood!

Well, they are, and they aren't. The old train is indeed shut down for good; but a new, improved version is slated to be open by March. The new train is to be longer, safer, and make stops at the Zoo, the Natural History Museum, the Miller Outdoor Theater, and the Texas Medical Center. It also will connect with a stop for MetroRail, the city's light rail system.

The next time I get down to Houston, I may just have to give the new "choo choo" a ride. Who knows, it could be fun!

Click on the video below to play it.

She Didn't Even Ask to Shop at Macy's

From the "you can't make this stuff up" files, the Austin American-Statesman is reporting today the bizarre case of an Austin police officer who has been accused of having a relationship with a prostitute. That's not the weird part. He pays her with clothing. That's weird, but still not the weird part. You want to know what the weird part is? He gets the clothing by taking her shopping at Wal-Mart and letting the prostitute shop from his wife's closet! Now that's weird! I told you...you can't make this stuff up!

No doubt, there is one pissed off wife in Austin, Texas tonight. Just when Texas Monthly publishes their 2007 "Bum Steer Awards", we have a contender for next year's list.

It's January 1!

Icicle

There is a growing icicle coming down from the roof, each day getting a little longer. The melting and refreezing of snow on the roof is creating quite the spire of ice. Since I may have to go take it down, I decided it needed a photo taken first. I would estimate its current length at about 4 feet. It has become a crystalline stalactite.

This is a twilight time picture, but it gives an unusual lighting effect to see the yellow from the incadescent bulb at the bottom gradiating into the bluish hues of the late afternoon sky and the ice itself. Add to it the reflections from the icicle creating patterns of light on the wall, and it gives you an interesting picture.

Converging Contrails

Jet contrails converging toward the airport

One morning I saw this interesting sight. Several jet contrails marking the sky, and converging toward Denver International Airport. I suppose the conditions in the atmosphere were perfect for keeping them visible for a longer time, so we end up with this view.

Pensive Kitty

Teddy pondering the meaning of life

Animals make interesting photographic subjects. This is one of my favorite pet portraits I have done. This is Teddy, one of the cats that belong to my son and his family. I caught Teddy sitting in the kitchen greenhouse window beside the plants. He is a very friendly cat, and has three "brothers"; Linksie, Betelgeuse, and Herman.

Lonely Pine

Lonely scrub pine awaiting the impending storm

This is a picture I shot back on April 1, 2006. There was a storm approaching from the west, and this pine seemingly is standing defiant, as if to say, "Bring it on! I've faced worse than you!" I also wonder about the stump beside it. Why was it taken down, while its partner lives on beside the dusty road on the Colorado prairie?

Sometimes, the most mundane and ordinary things have a story to tell, if only one stops long enough to listen and ponder.

An Interesting Storm Cloud

Supercell developing near Castle Pines - click on photo for larger view

I am going through some pictures I have archived and came across this one. I took this photo on July 12, 2004 at 7:26 PM. You can see the light from the setting sun illuminating the west (right) side of the cloud formation. From this vantage point, I am to the northwest of the storm.

Supercells can bring violent weather, including hail, heavy rain, and even tornadoes. I pulled over to the side of the road on Monarch Boulevard in Douglas County, Colorado to take this shot. To me, it appears this cloud is in the process of exploding, and offers a very interesting view of this dynamic meteorological system.

Montana's Instructions for Idiots

The state of Montana, Big Sky Country, is a vast stretch of land where winters can be brutal. Getting stranded in a blizzard can be a terrifying and life-threatening experience. So, to be helpful, the state has issued Montana's Take-Along Winter Survival Handbook, available for download as a pdf file.

This is actually a survival handbook that has a lot of great tips, but on page 20, there are instructions on how to use automobile parts to save a life. The last tip says:

• For warmth and signal, burn a tire. (Not on the car!) Release the air pressure, and use gasoline, oil, or any other means to ignite it.

Now two things here strike me as kind of dumb. First, the obvious warning to the morons of the world to not burn the tire while it is still on the car. Secondly, gasoline, oil, or any other means to ignite it? Any other means? Perhaps a pocket knife or a hubcap? Probably won't work too well.

Still, the book is a worthwhile guide to download, print, and keep in the car. Dumb warnings aside, it is a good effort.

Netscape Reaches the End of the Line

The current owners of the Netscape Navigator web browser announced today that the venerable product that popularized the World-Wide Web will no longer be updated or supported. The demise of the once market-leading browser is the end result of a long decline.

Based on the groundbreaking Mosaic, Netscape was a commercial version brought out by Marc Andreessen and others, and was at one time the top web browser in terms of technology and market share. Its decline started with the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Microsoft's Windows Operating System, the purchase of Netscape by America Online, and is today little more than a repackaging of Firefox, its open source progeny. Today, I don't think I know of anyone still using Netscape.

So Netscape morphs into just a web portal, with the browser itself being relegated to the annals of computing history. It was a good run.

Colonoscopy Update

It is a sunny, beautiful day here in Colorado, with blue skies, sunshine, and lots of snow on the ground from the storms of Christmas Day and yesterday. I am back home after the colonoscopy and am very pleased to have it over and done with. Before going into the particulars, let me say that after dreading this for years, it is really no big deal. Everyone told me the preparation was the worst part, and indeed that is true. Plus, the good news is that I have absolutely no problems, no polyps, no cancer, and there was nothing to be removed or biopsied. All the doctor did was go in and take a look around. Because of that, the procedure took only about ten minutes from the time they got started until finished; however I wouldn't know because of the sedation.

The day started by getting up at 6am to get ready to go to the hospital. After trekking through the snow via backroads to avoid the traffic jam on I-225, we arrived for check in. This is where one unpleasant surprise awaited. As it turns out that since this procedure was taking place at a hospital rather than a regular endoscopic clinic, I had to pay a $300 co-pay, rather than it being free. That "gotcha fee" almost made me walk right back out. But, after the prep and my wife's urging to stay despite our both being upset about the fee, I calmed down and went ahead with it.

The nurse took me to a room with a reclining chair in it and had me change into one of those most fashionable hospital gowns. I was allowed to keep my socks on. They then brought me some warmed blankets, hooked an IV up to my hand, and took my blood pressure, which was elevated. Shortly, a young man came in a wheel chair to get me and take me to the room for the procedure. He was very nice and explained everything to me, and showed me the colonoscope. My only concern about that machine was that the "hose" part was a bit thicker than I had hoped, being a little larger in diameter than my index finger. It has a light, a camera, surgical tools, and an air injector on the end. The air is used to open the colon so the camera can see inside. Soon, the doctor showed up and we got started.

The nurse gave me some medication (Versed and Phentanol) through the IV, to relax me and get the sedation going. I don't remember a thing until it was over, and I heard the doc saying everything looked great. Seemed like only a couple of minutes since I went under.

Soon, I was riding back home with the lovely spouse driving the car, as they don't let you drive after the medication. I was totally lucid, and since I hadn't eaten in almost two days, we went to get some lunch. I started getting very sleepy, and couldn't finish my lunch, so I brought some of it home for later. Upon arrival at the house, I couldn't help taking a nap.

So, the bottom line is this...
If you are asked to get this test...do it! It really is not a big deal at all. The fear of the unknown is the worst part, but I can tell you that it is nothing. Most important of all, it can save your life. Consider these facts:

• Colorectal cancer takes 50,000 lives in the United States every year (think about this...that's about like a 9/11 every 3 weeks!)
  
• Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women, coming in second only to lung cancer
• Someone in the country dies of the disease every 9.3 minutes
• More people die each year from colorectal cancer than to breast cancer and AIDS combined

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common, and yet preventable, cancers.

I am glad I went ahead with this. Since everything looks good, I now don't have to do it again for ten years, unless something new develops. But I can tell you this... I will not hesitate to do it again when necessary.

What a Way to End the Year

Well, this is not way to end the year. I have been fighting off a cold-like bug, and it finally has me. I rarely take any sick days off work, but today I don't feel like going in and sitting in my spacious 4x4 cubicle box. Plus, it is snowing again! We got about a foot on Christmas, and are expecting another 5 to 10 inches today. But that isn't the worst of it, so if you are queasy, you may not want to read further. This could fall into the area of "TMI", or "too much information".

Already feeling sick, I have a task to do before our current insurance runs out at the end of the month. Tonight I have to prep for the dreaded colonoscopy. I can only have clear liquids today. Then this afternoon, I have to take 4 Dulcolax tablets, and at 5 pm I have to mix a half gallon of Crystal Light with a whole bottle of Miralax. The dosage on the bottle says one capful in a drink, but I have to down the entire bottle! Holy Shit!! Literally!

I have no doubts this will be a miserable evening! Then after I am...shall we say, emptied out...I get the joy of going to the hospital tomorrow morning and getting the equivalent of a 6 foot long garden hosed snaked up to the innermost parts of my insides. The thought of all of it, from the laxatives to the colonoscope, scares the crap out of me. Well, maybe not...the laxatives will take care of that. They say the prep is the worst part, as the procedure itself is done under the influence of some drugs that take away any memory of it and compress time. Still even if I don't remember it later, I don't want to know while it is going on.

I am doing my best to go through with this by steeling my nerves for the experience. This is a baseline procedure they now recommend if you are 50 or older. Since I am turning 55 next month and never had one, I the doctors want to do it to screen for any indications of colon cancer. Oh the joys of reaching middle age.

I will have several people upset with me if I don't go through with it. My brother in Wisconsin has said he will be pissed off at me if I don't get it done, the lovely spouse will also not be happy, and my good friend in Maryland has also told me to get it done. This friend is particularly sensitive to it, as we lost a mutual friend a couple of years ago to colon and liver cancer. He was only 56. The three of us used to work together at WCBC Radio back in the 1970s.

So, I am trying hard to keep myself psyched up enough to go through with this. For JR, for Bob, for all my loved ones, and for myself. Between worrying over this and being sick, I didn't sleep well last night, and doubt I'll sleep much tonight. Tomorrow morning, we have to drive through the snow to the hospital in Aurora for an 8am check in. At 9, they'll begin, and I should be in recovery by 10. Then another hour or two for the drugs to wear off enough for me to be driven back home. So hopefully I'll get a clean report and be back home enjoying lunch by 1pm or so.

Yes, I am a big baby about medical stuff, I'll admit it. But I am also a rational human being, so logic dictates I get this done.